George Western THOMPSON, Congress, VA (1806-1888)

THOMPSON, George Western, a Representative from Virginia; born in St. Clairsville, Ohio, May 14, 1806; was graduated from Jefferson (now Washington and Jefferson) College, Pennsylvania, in 1824; studied law in Richmond, Va.; was admitted to the bar in 1826 and commenced practice in St. Clairsville, Ohio, in 1828; moved to western Virginia in 1837; appointed deputy postmaster at Wheeling in 1838; appointed on a commission to settle jurisdiction of the Ohio River between Virginia and Ohio; United States attorney for the western district of Virginia by appointment of President Polk 1848-1850; elected as a Democrat to the Thirty-second Congress and served from March 4, 1851, until his resignation on July 30, 1852; was elected judge of the circuit court of Virginia in 1852 and reelected in 1860; was removed from office in 1861 on refusal to take the oath of office to support what he believed unconstitutional action to set up the present State of West Virginia; retired from the practice of his profession and resided on his estate near Wheeling, Ohio County, W.Va., until his death February 24, 1888; interment in Elm Grove Cemetery, Wheeling, W.Va.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present